Kelly Owens, a librarian assistant with St. Louis Public Schools, has lived on Hebert Street in the historic Old North St. Louis neighborhood since she was five years old.
Still today she lives in her childhood home with her mother and three children, two 13-year-old sons and a daughter of 16.
This year she’s buying her own three-bedroom home, which will be certified in energy efficiency, and it’s a few blocks from her mother’s house. She is one of 17 homeowners who will work with Habitat for Humanity St. Louis to build their own green homes in the Old North neighborhood. The residents hope to move in by October.
On March 12, the owners, organization leaders and public officials put in the first nails of a house in the new development. As part of the program, home owners put in 450 hours of “sweat equity” with the organization, take workshops on budgeting and other life skills, and pay a low, interest-free monthly mortgage.
“I’m so blessed to have the opportunity to become a homeowner,” Owens said, “and that Habitat for Humanity is giving me a chance to show my children that there’s more to life and that we can live on our own as a family.”
Owens and all the owners will have a relationship with Habitat for the next 25 years of their mortgages. If there is ever a time when the owners can’t pay, a committee of about 15 people will work to find solutions for the families, said Avis Laden, family selection and family support manager with Habitat.
Owens’ monthly payment will be about $425, which includes home insurance and taxes. Part of that money also goes into an escrow account for repairs or other sudden mishaps that could come up down the road.
“We do target low- to moderate-income individuals and families,” Laden said, “and we want to make sure that they can enjoy the process of building their home – but also make sure that they can be successful for the next 25 years and able to pay their mortgage payment.”
The Old North development is the third Habitat development in St. Louis that will focus on green building.
In 2006, the organization built 20 Energy Star homes in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood in North St. Louis. Then in 2008, the group participated in a Habitat International pilot grant program, funded by Home Depot Foundation, to build homes that qualified as LEED-certified or Energy Star homes.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council and is a commonly used system in energy-efficient construction.
As part of the pilot program, Habitat built 27 homes with LEED Platinum ratings, the highest level. That 27-home development was the third-largest LEED Platinum development in the country, and it doubled the number of LEED-certified homes in the region.
Then last year, the group built 24 more homes in the JeffVanderLou neighborhood, and this year the group will add another 13 green homes to that neighborhood.
According to Habitat homeowners in the development, their heating bills in February were about $45.
Owens’ utility bill will be about 30 to 40 percent less than the average home owner’s because it is a LEED-certified home.
Laden said that Habitat tries to accommodate the needs of each community it collaborates with. The Old North neighborhood has a strong community base, she said, and the community members wanted to make sure Habitat was inclusive of their existing resident base. Four of the owners are from the Old North neighborhood.
Out of all the 250 families living in Habitat homes in St. Louis, less than 5 percent have faced foreclosure, according to the organization.
“We are able to maintain a partnership with our families; it’s not just a mortgage company,” Laden said. “We interact with our families long after they’ve closed and moved into their houses. That support system allows them to prevent foreclosure.”
The application process opens up in early spring and closes in early summer. Individuals can get on a notification list of Habitat home opportunities. In order to be on the notification list, the applicant must be a first-time homebuyer and a resident of St. Louis City or St. Louis County for at least one year prior to completing an application.
Applicants must have a form of steady income that is equivalent to 25-50 percent of the median income in the St. Louis area and currently live in substandard housing. Lastly, the applicant must be willing and able to partner with Habitat for Humanity St. Louis and perform 450 hours of “sweat equity” and must not have declared bankruptcy in the last three years.
For more information, visit www.habitatstl.org or call 314-371-0400.
